The stratified charge engine is a type of internal-combustion engine, similar in some ways to the Diesel cycle, but running on normal gasoline. The name refers to the layering of fuel/air mixture, the charge inside the cylinder. In a traditional Otto cycle engine the fuel and air are mixed outside the cylinder and are drawn into it during the intake stroke. The air/fuel ratio is kept very close to stoichiometric, which is defined as the exact amount of air necessary for a complete combustion of the fuel. This mixture is easily ignited and burns smoothly. The problem with this design is that after the combustion process is complete, the resulting exhaust stream contains a considerable amount of free single atoms of oxygen and nitrogen, the result of the heat of combustion splitting the O2 and N2 molecules in the air. These will readily react with each other to create NOx, a pollutant. A catalytic converter in the exhaust system re-combines the NOx back into O2 and N2 in modern vehicles.
A direct injection diesel engine, on the other hand, injects diesel fuel (which is heavier and resistant to vaporization) directly into the cylinder, the combustion chamber is in the top of the piston. This has the advantage of avoiding premature spontaneous combustion—a problem known as detonation or ping that plagues Otto cycle engines—and allows the diesel to run at much higher compression ratios. This leads to a more fuel-efficient engine, which is commonly found in applications where it is being run for long periods of time, such as in trucks.
However the Diesel engine has problems as well. The fuel is sprayed right into the highly compressed air and has little time to mix properly. This leads to portions of the charge remaining almost entirely air and others almost entirely of unburnt fuel lacking for oxygen. This incomplete combustion leads to the presence of other pollutants such as partially burnt and unburnt fuel—polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the plainly visible exhaust soot. The indirect injection diesel where fuel is injected into a pre-chamber (the best known being Ricardo Consulting Engineers' Ricardo Comet design), where the flame front from the pre-chamber ignition leads to better mixing of the air and fuel, smoother combustion in the cylinder, and a reduction in diesel knock. Indirect injection diesels are a kind of stratified charge engine. These benefits came at the cost of a 10% efficiency reduction compared to direct injection diesels.
The stratified charge design attempts to fix the problems with both fuels. It uses a direct-injection system, like the diesel, with its inherent ability to be run at efficient high compressions. However, like the Otto, it relies on gasoline's ability to mix quickly and cleanly in order to avoid the poor combustion found in older direct injection Diesels. To do this the fuel injectors are aimed to inject the fuel into only one area of the cylinder, often a small “subcylinder” at the top, or periphery, of the main cylinder. This provides a rich charge in that area that ignites easily and burns quickly and smoothly. The combustion process proceeds and moves to a very lean area (often only air) where the flame-front cools rapidly and the harmful NOx has little opportunity to form. The additional oxygen in the lean charge also combines with any CO to form CO2, which is less harmful. This technology has also been applied to the latest electronically controlled direct injection diesels. The injection system on these engines delivers the fuel in multiple injection bursts to ensure better fuel/air mixing and reduced diesel knock. The much cleaner combustion in stratified charge gasoline engines allows for the elimination of the catalytic converter and allows the engine to be run at leaner (lower ratio of fuel to air) mixtures, using less fuel. It has had a similar effect on diesel engine performance. Today's diesels are cleaner and can be twice as powerful as before, while maintaining similar fuel economy.
After years of trying, this layout has proven not to be terribly easy to arrange. The system has been used for many years in slow-running industrial applications, but has generally failed to develop into an automobile engine. Many attempts have been made over the years, notably in Wankel engine applications, but only the Japanese car manufacturers have pressed ahead with piston-engine development.
There remains an important need to provide an low cost, high horsepower internal combustion engine having improved fuel efficiency and low NOx and particulate emissions, that can operate with a variety of fuels.